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Work will begin on Monday, October 7, to repair a section of Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R)’s Springwater Corridor Trail about a mile south of the Ross Island Bridge that was damaged by erosion.

Beginning October 7 and ending November 15, a portion of the trail between milepost 1.5 and milepost 1.75 will be closed from 9am to 4pm each Monday through Friday. There will be no public access to that section of trail during these construction hours.

Noting that many people use the trail for commuting and recreation, PP&R has worked to ensure that the trail will be open for use before 9am and after 4pm on weekdays; as well as all day on weekends. Walkers, runners and cyclists should continue to use caution through the construction area.

WHAT: Section of Springwater Corridor Trail closed for repair; please use before 9am or after 4pm Monday-Friday

WHERE: Milepost 1.5-milepost 1.75

WHEN: Closed October 7-November 15 from 9am to 4pm. Monday–Fridays.

PP&R has planned the construction timing to allow commuter and recreation access in the morning before 9am and in the evening after 4pm, when crews are not working. In order to maintain this limited access, we need your help. Please plan enough time to pass through the construction zone before the trail section closes.

The Springwater Corridor Trail project will fix an eroded section of the trail impacted due to an unforeseen emergency. The solution to the erosion has proven to be a unique fix dependent on weather conditions, funding, and complex permitting. PP&R has been working on the erosion repair solution and trail restoration project since it became a problem due to unusually hard, prolonged rain and high river water in March 2012.

PP&R’s goals have been, and continue to be to initiate and complete repairs and reinforcement as soon as possible. A number of complex permits are required, which mandate environmentally-sensitive solutions. PP&R’s goal is to stabilize the slide, and make the trail fully operational again; while taking steps to protect the riverbank. We want to also ensure that the bottom of the riverbank does not wash out once again in the future.

Background:

Erosion began in March 2012 on an approximately 100-foot section of the Springwater Corridor Trail south of theRossIslandBridge. PP&R put up cones in April when the asphalt path cracked due to the slide, along with sandbags and plastic sheeting. Currently, the trail is open for use, but with only one lane available at the affected area. Users are urged to proceed with caution so that all may pass safely from both directions. PP&R continues working on a plan for both an immediate repair to the area, as well as a longer-term solution that will reinforce about 1000 feet of the nearby riverbank below the trail.

Details on planned repairs:The repairs and reinforcement of the riverbank slope will occur in two phases. Phase 1 will stabilize the slope and rebuild the trail to make it fully functional and safe. This will involve a so-called “soft solution” which will provide riparian wildlife habitat as well.

The soft solution involves soil wrapped by natural weaved fibers secured to the slope by soil anchors and vegetated with natural plantings. The second phase, which is currently unfunded, will occur sometime in the future using vertical wooden piles driven into the river bottom to hold logs and root wad supports in place, further ballasted by a mixture of boulders and natural wooden enforcements. Planting vegetation will enhance habitat and provide additional stability at the very bottom of the bank.

The estimated total project cost is $650,000. Special thanks to Metro, which is contributing a matching grant of up to $400,000 towards the project. The City o of Portland will cover the remaining costs, and has retained GeoStabilization International (GSI) as the contractor for the project.